3-Year Old Afraid to Sleep in Own Room

Maybe just time for some tough love. I'd have a heart to heart with her and tell her that since you had just moved you broke the routine a bit so she could get used to her new room but now that you've been there a while it's time for her to do it on her own. You could slowly cut down the time that you or hubby is in there or you could just go cold turkey. If it were me, I'd go cold turkey, but I could see how the other might be appealing too. I'd give her like a countdown...Honey, in two more days it's going to be time to sleep alone, remember? And go from there. Also, you might have her pick out a new night light or nightgown or stuffed animal or something to make her transition a little smoother, make her involved in the process. It's hard, but hang in there!

I feel for you! I would try adding a night light and i have sprayed some "antimonster" spray- (just water in spray bottle) or sprinkled some no monster dust (sparkles) for my little ones when they were scared to sleep in their room. I don't think its a good idea to start off with mom or dad sleeping there b/c its not really solving the problem. I would Talk with her about what she is scared of specifically. try to show how why those things are not scary..Then I would insist she starts sleeping in her room. She needs to go to bed in there alone! If she comes into your room in the middle of the night scared, I would make her a pallet on the floor to sleep on - don't let her in your bed. eventually she start staying in her room longer and longer until one night she will wake up there!
My now 14 yr old got really scared to sleep in her room after we moved out from living with her dad and she went to sleepover girl scout camp (she was 12) I did the pallet thing and it worked! Good luck!

Isn't this the age that kids' imaginations start getting wild and they imagine monsters under the bed, etc? I guess I am a soft touch but I am sympathetic to scared kids. All the same, work out a reward system. if she spends the night alone, she gets a sticker on a chart; a week of stickers and she gets a really special treat.

My son developed a phobia of his room when he was three, too. Upon inquiry, we found that he was afraid of monsters in his closet. (Note: This was well before "Monsters, Inc.," a totally brilliant movie. My son is 28 yrs old now.) The only way I could get him to settle down at night was to perform this little ritual: Somehow we ended up with a red plastic baseball bat. I had to pick it up with a great deal of flourish and fanfare, open the closet, and then vigorously beat everything in the closet with the red bat for several minutes. After that, my son was reassured that the monsters were at bay, having been thoroughly chased out of the closet and would settle down and go to sleep. I could then leave the room and laugh. This phase lasted a month or so and did not recur.

Good luck and have fun!